So I was talking the other day about who I would be if I had the ultimate choice. And I thought wouldn't it be cool to share some of these ideas to this blog so everybody could read them. I had come up with a few ideas so I thought I would share my top few. The realms of possibilities are endless, with me also choosing fictional characters into my selection.
5. A Wizard (from Harry Potter)
Who wouldn't want to be a wizard? Like I mean being able to fix things with a couple of words, have moving newspapers and the answers to many different things, including to an extent death with the philosophers stone. Wizard sports also look like they'd be pretty amazing, I mean look at Quidditch. How awesome would it be to play that!? Or to be able to summon things to you. Invisibility cloaks also look cool too. Although one thing I could do without is Lord Voldemort trying to kill me all the time. I'd rather just be a wizard without the responsibility Mr Potter seems to have.
4. Stand Up Comedian.
Because who wouldn't want be able to enter a room of thousands of people and have them all laugh at their jokes? It must be fairly amazing. Being able to just have the wit to regularly come up with some of these peoples stuff on panel shows for instance must also be pretty cool.
2=. Lead Singer Of A Rock Band.
So second and third have to be equals. The feeling of writing a song, having it released, having people buy it and then buy tickets to see YOU live must be amazing. But really, it's that feeling of having thousands of people sing the song you wrote with you in a stadium or major festival. That must be the best feeling ever. Why not just a pop band then? Because those at rock concerts are most commonly a far more up and at it crowd, a louder crowd and usually a longer lasting crowd. And how many pop bands have you seen last from the early 90's until today without splitting up at some point?
2=. A star footballer...for Liverpool.
Clearly this was going to come up. I'd just love to get my name in Liverpool's history books. I mean to be mentioned as one of the best players for Liverpool ever is like being compared to one of the best ever players in the world. Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard have walked onto that hallowed turf and really that says it all. World class. And the fans, they're some of the best in England. The only club with a comparable atmosphere in this country is Newcastle with teams like Celtic, Rangers and Dortmund being comparable in Europe. All you'd need to do is get the club back into Europe and win a major trophy to go down in history. There would be no humanly better honour than to put on the Liverpool jersey and represent them on the turf of Anfield where once the King Kenny played. No better honour.
1. I'd like to be....doctor who....
There is one thing that beats Liverpool or having thousands sing songs you have wrote. It just isn't a human thing. And that is being able to travel throughout space and time, to see things that in reality are not humanly possible. To visit other planets. To have a TARDIS. It would be insane. But I guess I'm gonna have to settle by watching the 50th anniversary show...which proves to be pretty awesome.
Got anything you wanna be? Just leave a comment below or tweet me @jamesmartinlfc
Hey there guys! I've been away recently, in a land of tents and music! Yes that's right, I've been to Reading Festival. And this year the line up was as epic as ever with Green Day, Eminem and Biffy Clyro the three headliners as well as a host of other great bands including Fall Out Boy, White Lies and Bastille.
Pre Festival Opinion
Regarding the line up, I was very excited to hear Eminem had been announced, mainly because I listened to him years ago and still loved tunes like "Not Afraid" "Lose Yourself" and "Love The Way You Lie", I also as many people will know, estatic to hear that Green Day were playing...although I did buy a ticket days before the announcement to see Green Day at Reading as they weren't rumoured to be there. So that was £60 down the pan really! Biffy Clyro I was reserved about, not because I don't like them, on the contrary I love the Biff, they're one of my favourite bands, definitely up there for my favourite British band with Muse, Arctic Monkeys and the Vaccines, but really because I was doubtful that they were big enough. Although they had 6 albums, only three were particularly heavily well known. That said, as the days before the festival came, the excitement grew. Rather than boring with you I shall now go onto actually reviewing the festival.
Friday
This was Green Day day for me, but there were other bands playing. One band that excited me on the line up were Bastille on the NME/Radio 1 Stage. They were not a disappointment either, playing songs from their debut album as the crowd went far outside the tent. An incredible crowd for such a new band. And a crowd where pretty much everyone left saying how good they were. Another artist witnessed was Frank Turner, he put on a show considering his current back injury, with his Mother getting him on stage, on a wheelchair before he launched himself off the chair into 40 minutes of rock 'n' roll.
So then at around 7pm we found ourselves at the main stage, 2 hours before Green Day, System Of A Down were about to come on. Now here is where I shall get ripped by friends who read this, but I actually enjoyed System Of A Down, maybe because I found the lyrics for the song "Needles" particularly funny as well as the Walter White lookalike bassist man!
System Of A Down - Needles (Lyrics Video)
System Of A Down - Needles (Live @ Reading)
I know right, a man in a chair reading a paper in the air at System Of A Down, it really was great to see actually there too. That 5 minutes must have been up there for the top 5 minutes of humor at Reading (although Saturday's trip to the alternative tent has to compete closely).
Anyway System Of A Down finished and there was then an hours wait, before Green Day graced the famous Reading Festival Main Stage, following up an epic secret set on the NME/Radio 1 Stage from a year before. As usual the pink rabbit ran around the stage to the Blitzkrieg Bop (of course after the crowd, like at the Emirates performed a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody). A performance starting with 99 Revolutions started with some Green Day hits including "Holiday" and "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" and songs from the new albums such as "Let Yourself Go", "Stay The Night" and "Stop Before The Red Lights Flash". Then up came the Dookie banner, now usually as a fan of the band I check out all the rumours, this time I hadn't. I wasn't expecting Dookie in full, this said, they had been doing it throughout their tour...although not in London. For a fan this was insane, I guess if you weren't a fan there must have been five or six songs that you'd never heard of before and you wanted Green Day to revert back to the hits. However like Origins Of Symmetry you could also argue this was musical history, a band playing their album in full isn't particularly common and an album with the sales and success of Dookie, it can be quite incredible. Anyway after finishing the album (much enjoyed by the Green Day fans, a bit less so by casual viewers I would guess) they went back to some more hits before really storming the Encore with American Idiot, Jesus Of Suburbia, Brutal Love and of course the acoustic Good Riddance. Unfortunately the BBC only showed an hour of the Green Day set, which doesn't include Dookie in it's entirety, so I've included one somebody filmed in Belgrade, apologies if the quality is rubbish!
Green Day Play Dookie In Full (Belgrade 2013)
BBC Three's coverage of Green Day's Reading 2013 Performance
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams Live at Reading 2013
Saturday
Well this was gonna be one unique Reading Festival day. In my years going to the festivals we'd had various different types of rock bands at the festival, but we had never had a rap artist headline. This was to change with the performance of Eminem, the biggest rapper in the world and to be fair, the only one I've commonly listened too. Also on on the Saturday were Imagine Dragons and Chase and Status were both acts playing. Unfortunately we felt that our experiences at Imagine Dragons and Chase and Status were partially ruined by crowd crushes, one that notably left loads of people on the floor in the middle of the NME tent, although from what I heard of Imagine Dragons they were good live. Chase and Status on the other hand I didn't enjoy. I know many people did, but having your foot trampled on enough that it's as flat as a sheet of paper, I'm also not a fan of that style of music and was only where I was for Eminem. But watch the videos and decide for yourself.
Imagine Dragons live at Reading 2013
Chase and Status - Count On Me (Reading 2013)
So yes, then came Eminem. Starting with Survival and then moving onto huge hits, especially towards the end with songs such as Not Afraid, Love The Way You Lie, My Name Is, The Real Slim Shady and even getting Dido for Stan. The encore was incredible with the mega hit Lose Yourself. I would say more and include a video but unfortunately the BBC now ask artists whether they can show them, despite having the rights to show the festival. You can thank the Rolling Stones for that! The Mail reported he may have mimed at Reading and Leeds, however without video evidence it's impossible to tell. I'd like to therefore think he didn't and not have a good show by Eminem ruined by this.
Sunday
There were a lot of doubts about Sunday's acts, generally I heard various friends say "Biffy aren't as big for the headline act as Green Day and Eminem". I kind of agreed with this, but I was looking forward to a band I very much enjoyed seeing twice in 2010. Also playing that day were Fall Out Boy, in what seems to have been of recent a return with a new album being released as well as some new shows. The Lumineers, The Editors, Nine Inch Nails and Dog is Dead also all performed. The latter two we didn't see much of. Fall Out Boy through we did, although sitting down. They played a variation of their new stuff and some of their old classics such as "This ain't a scene" and "Thanks For The Memories". It was generally nice just to see them back, although not knowing much of their new music I generally preferred it when they played their older stuff. They certainly drew a huge crowd considering the time of their performance. Generally afterwards we explored the arena, we did see a snippet of Dog Is Dead (and +Ryan Steppel asked the ice cream van staff about the ketchup on their van) and Nine Inch Nails whilst we got a drink.
Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark
Then it was time for the finale of the acts. Biffy Clyro. I can tell you this. After seeing them this time I would now write MON THE BIFF rather than Mon The Biff. The performance was like a statement, a "We've made it" and they had, after various performances at Reading they were headlining the main stage on finale night of Reading Festival! And despite fears boy did they not let us down! Playing for 90 minutes they did a set including new and old songs. The crowd went mental for them as they continued. The special effects were amazing, the fireballs on the top of the arena stage and the fireworks at the end. Reading Festival was their moment, they made sure of that. One thing is for certain, of all the acts I have seen live headlining the main stage, they were not a pushover for any of them. They were up there. It's hard to pick a number one with the differing bands, songs and genres I mean Blink-182 in the first year were great, Green Day this year also were, then there are the Foo's who were simply amazing and Muse and their album Origins Of Symmetry played in full. One thing is for certain, these bands have all proved on that stage at Reading that rock is very much still alive and kicking. But Biffy Clyro made that statement bold!
Biffy Clyro Full Reading 2013 Headlining Performance
Biffy Clyro - Mountains
So overall yes, it was incredible and way worth it!
If you saw it on TV or like myself attended and have an opinion please comment!
6 months till Christmas!!!!! Yes, today is the 25th June! But before that we have festival season! Yes, the festivals are all beginning! Last week it was the Isle of Wight, but really, that's a preshow to the curtain raiser...Glastonbury! Over 5 days people are gonna get amazing moments such as a set by the Arctic Monkeys, which having seen them in the O2 I can definitely say will be great! So if you're going to Glastonbury I wish you an epic and unforgettable time! Personally my festival seems to be Reading, one of the last festivals of the summer, where Green Day, Eminem and Biffy will headline. Some top shows, as there are at full festivals. This said, it'll be hard to beat my five top Reading moments, which today I'm going to tell you here with the beginning of festival season!
5. Muse, playing Origin Of Symmetry in full in 2011. This was a unique experience and was followed up by their greatest hits from other albums. A very good show by a great great band. Being right at the front for this was a great experience and made watching the awful Interpol almost worth it!
The BBC Highlights of the set (misses out a lot of Origins of Symmetry...I know that's the bit that made it a unique and special show...)
Song of the set - Feeling Good.
4. Blink-182 - Reading 2010. Reading and Leeds this year seemed to be the festival of bands reuniting (another band in this trend is later in the top 5) and Blink-182 played their first shows in the UK since reforming at the Reading and Leeds festivals! Finishing the 2010 festival they played a montage of their greatest hits, with songs such as All The Small Things, What's My Name Again and Dammit being played.
Highlights of Blink-182 at Reading 2010.
Song of the Set: All The Small Things.
3. Green Day's Secret Set - Reading 2012. This would probably be higher if Green Day were a band I hadn't already seen and a band that I have since seen, in a gig where they played for considerably longer than the secret set. Playing through their greatest hits and songs they generally seemed to enjoy playing like the track "Murder City" they got the crowd mental and were broadcast on the main stage screens as well due to how busy the NME stage was. Luckily for me I was fairly close to the front.
Highlights of the Green Day Secret Set.
Song of the set: Stay the Night.
2. The reunion of the Libertines, Reading 2010. Now this was special, this was emotional. Coming on stage to the tune "we'll meet again" the band played hits from the albums they released when they were together to an incredibly passionate crowd, well respecting this could be the only time that any of the crowd would see them.
The full Libertines set.
Song of the set. Don't look back into the Sun.
1. The Foo Fighters, Reading 2012. This was simply amazing, Dave Grohl made it not just an event but an occasion, bringing up the fact he was there with the legendary Kurt Cobain 20 years ago. Playing hits and getting his family on stage this was simply an unforgettable experience. The best headline set I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and beating this may be impossible!
Then full set of the Foo Fighters.
You can't pick a song of this set, but I shall throw out a song to finish this blog as I am being rushed out of the house...annoying yes...to a strawberry farm...lame. Here's Walk by the Foo Fighters.
Well earlier on +Danièlle Owen did a questionnaire, I thought it would be cool if I did this too. So I have, so yeah, you can learn some random rubbish about me and maybe work out my intentions of watching a few matches of Wimbledon in the next fortnight while you're at it...and the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who....
1. SEXUALITY I
am a heterosexual male
2. IF YOU COULD MEET ANYONE ON THE PLANET, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? If
we include dead people probably JRR Tolkien because of how much imagination it
would have taken for him to create his books. I mean The Lord Of The Rings…wow.
If we’re on about people alive, Russell Brand would be hilarious, especially if
we did a few phone calls!
3. GRAB THE NEAREST BOOK TO YOU, GO TO PAGE 23 LINE 17...WHAT DOES IT SAY? Due
to the fact that I’m in a car I don’t have a book on me…I’ll do this later from
the book I’ve been reading for a long time which is Steve Jobs’ biography.
4. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE MOST? That
I need a job, how to get money, will my life be success of a failure
5. WHAT DOES YOUR LAST TEXT SAY? "I
love the U20 team" – this was from Danielle, declaring her love for some
Welsh rugby players, I moved this conversation to tennis on Facebook…
6. DO YOU SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES? Depends
on the heat, doubt you wanna know, but usually an old tour tshirt and my
boxers. I have slept in a onesie before though!
7. WHAT IS YOUR STRANGEST TALENT? Umm,
being a mug, not the china things, the too forgiving kind. I think I’ve changed
that though.
8.
FINISH THE SENTENCES: GIRLS.......... BOYS.......... Girls
can be tempermental. Boys will be boys.
9. EVER HAD A POEM OR SONG WRITTEN ABOUT YOU? Yep,
Rusty James and St Jimmy are both poetic songs wrote about me! Nah in all
seriousness I have not L
10. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED THE AIR GUITAR? 1st
June 2013 at the Emirates Stadium. Green Day!
11. DO YOU HAVE ANY STRANGE PHOBIAS? Mushrooms.
They feel horrible, taste horrible and make me vomit.
12. EVER STUCK A FOREIGN OBJECT UP YOUR NOSE? The
Germans haven’t tried to bomb my nose
13. WHAT IS YOUR RELIGION? The
religion of the lost and damned.
14. IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO BE DOING? Going
to a club, pondering a pasty or fish and chips, commonly with Josh.
15. DO YOU PREFER TO BE BEHIND THE CAMERA, OR IN FRONT OF
IT? Umm
when I’m drunk I am shocked at the amount of photos I find myself in and what
they look like, however sober behind the camera.
16. FAVOURITE BAND? Green
Day
17. WHAT WAS THE LAST LIE YOU TOLD? “I’m
leaving” – I was getting out of bed.
18. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? Karma’s
a bitch, although Karma is life, so life is a bitch.
19. WHAT DOES YOUR URL MEAN? That
I have a blog and I am a God?
20. WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS? Strength
– I can beat my weaknesses. Poor balance, take up rowing. Struggling cycling
proficiency, go out for a few hours until I know I can pass. Weakness
– “Love”,
21. WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH? Jenna-Louise
Coleman & Laura Robson.
22. HAVE YOU EVER GONE SKINNY DIPPING? Nope.
23. HOW DO YOU VENT YOUR ANGER? Punch
walls, bed and stuff. Shout about it online, can’t do that too much with
parents looking on my twitter…@jamesmartinlfc
24 DO YOU HAVE A COLLECTION OF ANYTHING? I
used to collect TY beanie babies when I was little
25. DO YOU PREFER TALKING ON THE PHONE OR VIDEO CHATTING
ONLINE? Have
to see myself on a video chat, so on the phone of course.
26. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE PERSON YOU'VE BECOME? In
the last year, I’ve grown up emotionally, so yeah. I speak my mind and people
have to deal with that. Because it’s important to stand up for what you believe
and not go with the crowd.
27. WHAT SOUND DO YOU HATE, AND WHAT SOUND DO YOU LOVE? I
hate the sound of people eating with their mouths open, my fist starts to feel
a magnet in it being attracted to their face. Regarding sounds I love it
depends, I’ve always liked the sound of a beach, or like a festival noise
before the music, just the anticipation and excitement that can be sensed.
28. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST "WHAT IF"? What
if I got rid of you when I should have?
29. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS AND ALIENS? Ghosts
yes. You know when you suddenly randomly shiver briefly but it’s warm, yeah,
that’s a ghost. Extra Terrestrial life, yes, but I doubt if we met them we’d be
like “shiiiit aliens!”
30. STICK YOUR RIGHT ARM OUT - WHAT DO YOU TOUCH? SAME WITH LEFT ARM. The
car seat in front of me
31. SMELL THE AIR. WHAT DO YOU SMELL? I
can smell the outdoors, every now and again some cow shit. Or is it horse shit?
What’s in my burgers nowadays?
32. WHAT IS THE WORST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TO? Manchester.
33. EAST COAST OR WEST COAST? In
Britain the west, in the USA I don’t know, isn’t NYC the east? In which case
east.
34. MOST ATTRACTIVE SINGER OF THE OTHER GENDER? Taylor
Momsen from The Pretty Reckless
35. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE? Carpe
Diem
36. DEFINE ART. Something
you can physically see that makes you think. Although I hate art.
37. DO YOU BELIEVE IN LUCK? Yeah,
well kinda, look at the people who have the talent that has given them
everything.
38. WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE? Dry
and cool.
39. WHAT IS THE TIME? 10pm
40. DO YOU DRIVE? IF YOU DO, HAVE YOU EVER CRASHED? Nope,
failed twice, wish I did crash in either test though, would be a good reason I
failed rather than stupid faults by other drivers or being 4mph over the limit
41. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? My
Booky Wook 2 – Russell Brand
42. DO YOU LIKE THE SMELL OF PETROL? It’s
addictive
43. DO YOU HAVE ANY NICKNAMES? God!
Nah I don’t have any.
44. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW? It’s
either Iron Man 2 or the Hunger Games
45. WHAT IS THE WORST INJURY YOU HAVE EVER GOT? It’s
either a broken toe from playing football in the hallway when I was 7ish or the
scar I got drinking.
46. HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A BUTTERFLY? No,
no I have not.
47. DO YOU HAVE ANY OBSESSIONS? If
I say no someone will comment about Green Day and Liverpool so…
48. DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? Yes,
although I’m still waiting for my letter from Hogwarts that must have got lost
in the post.
49. HAS ANYONE SEEN YOU IN YOUR UNDERWEAR IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS? I
don’t think so….
50. IS THERE ONE PERSON WHO CAN ALWAYS MAKE YOU SMILE? Yeah,
Milky, Elliot, Steve, Josh, Andy, Danielle, Vikki et al all in their own ways
haha.
Well I hope you learn't something new, do it yourself if you want, it would be interesting! If you have anything to say, comment or tweet me!
This blog is about two weeks late, but I feel as I still feel it is fresh in my mind and the fact that there are thousands of people who have bought their Reading and Leeds 2013 festival tickets where Green Day are one of the headline acts.
I think firstly it is important to remember the two support acts, these bands were All Time Low, a band that originally was a Blink-182 tribute band and the Kaiser Chiefs, a band from Leeds who in the mid noughties had some huge hits like "I Predict A Riot" and "Oh My God" as well as my friend Josh's favourite "Ruby". The first band of these two to perform were All Time Low who played a mixture of their hits such as "Weightless" and "Lost In The Stereo". In all honesty having seen All Time Low twice at Reading prior to this it was my opinion that they were better during their first Reading, despite this when they were playing their songs, the crowd clearly knew and like their music and therefore went along. Between songs however, where some bands are so good, they were very average, merely shouting swear words randomly and talking about how it would be a success if twenty percent of the crowd were to receive a handjob to go along with their Green Day experience, all this with no instruments playing a riff or anything between the songs. I realise that makes me sound like I'm a pensioner, but really it just seemed pointless. Needless to say their biggest cheer was when they mentioned Green Day.
The Kaiser Chiefs in my opinion were much better. With their collection of hits placed well in their set list, managing to actually take up a large portion they really managed to get the crowd warmed up and ready. There was a point where they played a new, presumably unreleased (the way their last album was digitally released I can't be completely sure) track exclaiming that Green Day has told them to play "some new shit", although I agree with the girl nearby who said "I guaranty you they didn't say that". Funnily enough this was their only unknown song and thank goodness it was as it failed to live up to the standards of any of their other songs. They finished with the song "Oh My God" which managed to last about three time the length as the studio edition of the same song, that said it was an excellent performance as all the crowd got hyped up. The stage presence of the Kaiser Chiefs was also fairly good for a support act in a stadium and they come quite close in my opinion to the level of Biffy Clyro when I saw them support Muse at Wembley stadium. With their performance at The Emirates I can safely say anybody who goes to see them is in for a treat.
Now for the main act, the act I had been waiting for months to see. I can't pretend that with all the none musical happenings of Green Day in the last 12 months that I wasn't a little worried or apprehensive about their gig, I was very much hoping that they would be on the same level as they were when I saw them in 2009 and the secret Reading 2012 set. They were even better. The traditional pink bunny came on before the Blitzwing Bop played and on came the band. Starting with the tune "99 Revolutions" from Tre they performed through a set that saw tracks from back in the early days such as "Sassafras Roots" and "Welcome To Paradise" all the way to singles from the Uno, Dos, Tre trilogy such as "X-Kid", "Stay The Night" and "Stray Heart". For well over two hours they played their hits before ending with a superb encore made up of "American Idiot" "Jesus Of Suburbia" and the slow "Brutal Love" where the crowd got out their lighters (and phone torches), which believe me, in a stadium such as the emirates, that is a real site to behold!
A part which many particularly like about Green Day is their crowd participation and once again this bought some of the highlights from the gig, with a green Union Jack given to Billie Joe near the beginning from the crowd as well as a man in his morphsuit for "Know Your Enemy" giving a letter for Billie Joe to show to the camera's declaring his love for someone and a girl who could play the guitar (my friend was worrying that she could be lying to get on stage and embarrass herself in front of what has been confirmed to be a record attendance for a gig in the stadium). There was even a moment when a little boy came on stage with his "Green Day Rocks" sign and held it aloft, it was a slight shame that the nerves got to him and he didn't smile, but being on stage with one of the greatest rock bands of their generation will surely be an experience he will never forget and more importantly brag about in years to come!
Therefore I would conclude, if you have plans to go to a gig, then really, I would definitely say make it Green Day. They are in a league that only a couple of bands such as the Foo Fighters and Muse are in. So if you get the chance, don't say no!
